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Local SEO checklist
Google My Business audit checklist
Use this as a GMB audit or a GBP audit. It is the same Google Business Profile, checked field by field for local SEO: name, categories, photos, reviews, hours, the website, and citations.
3 free previews a day. Email required to see the score. No Google login. The full report is $9.
The checklist
What to review in a Google My Business audit.
Work top to bottom. Each line is something you can verify on the profile, the website, or a directory. The note under the title is why that check belongs in the audit.
NAP and categories
These are the facts a customer uses to recognize the business, and the facts other sites copy. Check them before you touch photos or posts.
- 01
Confirm the business name is the real-world name
Why it matters: Google's guidelines say the profile name should match the name on the storefront, website, and stationery. Adding a city or a search phrase you do not use in the real world can get the profile suspended, and it looks unlike the business customers already know.
- 02
Confirm the address, or hide it for a service-area business
Why it matters: The address is where Maps sends people. Show a precise address only if customers can visit you there. If you travel to them, hide the address and set the service area. A virtual office or P.O. box is not a customer entrance.
- 03
Confirm the phone number matches the one you answer
Why it matters: The number on the profile is the one Maps dials. Use a number that reaches the business, and put that same number on the website. A different number on each site is how missed calls and duplicate listings start.
- 04
Set the primary category to the most specific true fit
Why it matters: The primary category is the main relevance choice for which searches the profile can appear in. Pick the most specific category that describes the core business. A generic category such as Store or Service wastes that choice.
- 05
Add additional categories only for services you provide
Why it matters: Additional categories describe related searches you can be relevant for. Add one only when you actually do that work. Categories you do not serve make the profile misleading and blur the primary category.
- 06
Remove or merge duplicate profiles for the same location
Why it matters: Two profiles for one location split reviews and photos, and Google may suspend the extra listing. Search the business name and address, then keep a single profile for that location.
Description and services
The description and the service list say what this profile is relevant for. Keep both limited to work the business actually does.
- 07
Write a plain-language business description
Why it matters: Google gives the description 750 characters and tells businesses not to include links or HTML. Use them to say what you do, who you serve, and where. Skip a block of city keywords tacked onto the business name.
- 08
List the services customers actually book
Why it matters: The service list names the specific work, which is more precise than the category alone. Add the jobs people call about, and remove services you no longer sell.
- 09
Describe each service, and add a price only when you will honor it
Why it matters: A service name on its own is hard to tell apart from a competitor's. A short description says what is included. Publish a price only when it is a price you will charge.
- 10
Fill products or a menu when the business sells them
Why it matters: Restaurants, retailers, and other product businesses get opened for the menu or product list before a visit. Add names and photos for what you sell. Skip this when there is no discrete product or menu.
Photos
Photos are how someone decides this is the right place before they call. Use pictures of this business.
- 11
Add a current logo and cover photo
Why it matters: The logo and cover are the images Maps uses to identify the profile. A blurry logo or an unrelated cover makes the listing look unfinished beside competitors.
- 12
Add an exterior photo of the entrance
Why it matters: People use the exterior photo to recognize the building from the sidewalk. Without it, they walk past the door or call for directions the photo would have answered.
- 13
Add real interior, team, and work photos
Why it matters: Customers choose with pictures of the place, the people, and the finished work. Photograph this business. Stock photos misrepresent it, which Google's photo guidelines do not allow.
- 14
Replace photos when the place or the work changes
Why it matters: A remodel, a new team, or a new product line makes old photos a false preview. Add photos when something a customer will see has changed, and remove ones that no longer match.
Reviews and responses
Reviews are the part of a local SEO check that customers compare side by side. Read them against the businesses Maps already shows nearby.
- 15
Ask recent customers for a review, with nothing offered in return
Why it matters: Reviews contribute to the prominence Google describes, and they are what the next customer compares. Ask people who paid you, the same way each time. Do not offer a discount, gift, or other incentive. Google prohibits that.
- 16
Compare the review count and rating with nearby competitors
Why it matters: A strong rating from a handful of reviews reads differently next to a competitor Maps already shows with a similar rating and many more reviews. Look at those listings before you decide reviews are the gap.
- 17
Reply to new reviews, including the critical ones
Why it matters: Owner replies are public. A specific reply shows a future customer that a person is paying attention. Thank a detailed review by mentioning the job. On a critical review, say what you will do, without an argument in the thread.
- 18
Flag reviews that violate Google's policies
Why it matters: Some reviews are spam, off-topic, or about a different business. Flag those in the dashboard. A public argument with a real customer rarely helps the next person reading the profile.
Posts and Q&A
Posts go stale, and questions can be answered by anyone. Check both when you have dashboard access.
- 19
Publish an update only when you have something current to say
Why it matters: Use a post for a new service, a real offer, or an event. Google expires a standard update after 7 days. An event post lasts through the event date you set, and an offer should use a real end date.
- 20
Use a real photo and a next step that matches the profile
Why it matters: A post without a photo is easy to miss. The button should call the business or open the website already listed on the profile, not an unrelated domain.
- 21
Answer profile questions from the owner account
Why it matters: Where the profile shows Q&A, anyone can answer, including someone who does not work there. Answer from the owner account, and add the questions customers already ask by phone, such as parking, pricing, and the area you cover.
Hours and attributes
Hours decide whether Maps says the business is open right now. Attributes are filters. Both have to be true on the day you audit.
- 22
Match regular hours to when customers can reach you
Why it matters: Maps shows open or closed from these hours. Wrong hours cause missed visits and public corrections. Add more hours, such as delivery or happy hour, only for hours you actually keep.
- 23
Set special hours, and mark a longer closure, before you need them
Why it matters: A holiday that still shows last week's hours tells people you are open when you are not. Set special hours ahead of the day. If the business is shut for longer than a normal day off, mark the profile temporarily closed.
- 24
Mark attributes only when they are true
Why it matters: Attributes are filters customers use, including a wheelchair-accessible entrance, parking, appointments, and outdoor seating. Mark one only when it is true today. A false accessibility attribute is a customer problem.
Website, landing page, and citations
The profile sends people to one page, and directories copy the name, address, and phone. This part of the audit checks that those copies still match.
- 25
Point the website button at the page for this location
Why it matters: The button should open the page for the location the person just found, on a phone, with the same name, phone, and city. A dead link or a page about a different city breaks that handoff. A business with several locations should link to the location page.
- 26
Make that page indexable, with one H1 and the service and city in the copy
Why it matters: The free audit checks whether the linked page can be indexed, has a title, uses a single H1, and mentions the service and the location in visible text. Fix a noindex tag or a missing H1 before rewriting the rest of the site.
- 27
Match LocalBusiness details on the site to the profile
Why it matters: The audit looks for LocalBusiness structured data with the same name, URL, phone, and address or service area as the profile. Add it so the site states the same facts. It does not replace a correct profile.
- 28
Make citations repeat the same name, address, and phone
Why it matters: Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Facebook, and the directories your customers already use should repeat the profile's name, address, and phone. Update an old address anywhere it is still published, and remove duplicate listings of the same location.
Run the free audit on the listing you just reviewed.
Search the business on the homepage and pick it from the Google dropdown. The free preview scores the public profile. You get 3 a day after you enter an email. The full report is $9 and adds competitor benchmarks, prioritized fixes, and a PDF. Freelancer is $19/mo for 15 audits. Agency is $49/mo for 60 audits. Both include white-label PDFs with your logo, and Agency removes GMB Audit branding.
01
Search the business
On the homepage, type the name and pick the listing from the Google dropdown. A keyword is optional.
02
Open the free score
Enter an email to see the preview. You can do this 3 times a day. No Google login.
03
Unlock the full GBP report
Competitor benchmarks, prioritized fixes, and the PDF are $9, or included in a monthly plan.
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For agencies auditing every client and prospect.
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FAQ
Google My Business audit questions
What is a Google My Business audit checklist?
A Google My Business audit checklist is a field-by-field review of a Google Business Profile: name, address, and phone, categories, the description and services, photos, reviews and replies, posts and Q&A, hours and attributes, then the website and citations. People also call that review a GMB audit or a GBP audit. Use it to find what to fix before you spend on ads.
Is a GMB audit the same thing as a GBP audit?
Yes. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile in 2021. A GMB audit, a Google My Business audit, and a GBP audit all mean reviewing that same listing for local SEO.
What should I check first on a Google Business Profile?
Start with anything a customer hits before they call: a name that does not match the real business, a phone or address that disagrees with the website, a generic primary category, hours that are wrong today, and recent reviews with no reply. Publishing more posts does not fix those.
How often should I run a Google My Business audit?
Walk the checklist after you change categories, hours, photos, or the website, and after a burst of new reviews. Do a monthly pass so special hours and posts do not go stale. If you use the free score, keep the same optional keyword so the results are comparable.
Do I need to log in to Google to use this checklist?
You need owner or manager access to confirm the description, services, the full photo library, replies, posts, Q&A, and citations. The free GMB audit on this site does not need a Google login. It scores the public listing, up to 3 previews a day after you enter an email. Owner-only fields stay on this checklist.
What do I get if I run the free audit after the checklist?
The free preview is a score out of 100, a grade, the weakest scored area, and a public finding count. The full report is $9 and adds competitor benchmarks, prioritized fixes, and a PDF action plan. Freelancer is $19/mo for 15 audits. Agency is $49/mo for 60 audits. Both put your logo on the PDF, and Agency removes GMB Audit branding.